Campaign to clean up is back for the spring

North Tyneside Council held an anti-litter poster competition at Richardson Dees Primary School in Wallsend where Elected Mayor Norma Redfearn is seen with the winner Salma Salmak, watched by some of her fellow pupils.
Picture by Jane Coltman

David Sedgwick

A spring-clean campaign to help spruce up North Tyneside is making a return.

North Tyneside Council’s Big Spring Clean campaign will combat litter and dog fouling, with the help of local residents, businesses, schools and community groups.

Running until May 13, the campaign invites the public to take part in council and community-led litter picks.

Year 6 students from Richardson Dees Primary School, in North Shields, helped launch the clean-up campaign.

Pupils were invited to produce anti-littering posters as part of a council-run competition, and the winner Salma Salmak was presented with a prize by Mayor Norma Redfearn.

The posters produced by the children will be handed out to homes and shops in the area to be displayed in windows.

Coun John Stirling, cabinet member for the environment, said: “We strive to ensure our borough is a great place to live, work and visit and the Big Spring Clean plays a big part.”

“The campaign has consistently shown some fantastic results and I look forward to seeing more of the same this year.”

The campaign has seen extraordinary successes in the past, with more than seven tonnes of litter being removed from the borough when the initiative was ran in 2015.

And this year, the council will be aiming to surpass these figures, as well as promote responsible dog ownership through various ‘NO MESSING!’ events.

Over the course of the campaign, wardens will continue to remind dog owners of their legal obligations to clean up after their pets, issuing fines to who those who don’t and the number of patrols will be increased, as well as responding to problem locations identified by the public.

The council’s mascot, Waldo the Wonderdog, will also be visiting schools where he will be holding interactive assemblies and spreading his anti-littering message to the younger generation.

For information about the Big Spring Clean, to find out about council-led litter picks or to organise your own, visit www.northtyneside.gov.uk or call 0345 2000 103.